Aftermath
by Silver Dog Demon
Summary: He was laying unconscious on his front porch.  Daphne found him.  This is what happened between Chris and Roy's argument and the hospital. A second chapter has been added, a follow-up of sorts.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! Just a fan of No Ordinary Family trying her hand at some fanfiction. I really loved the episode No Ordinary Proposal. I don't know why but I'm really drawn to the vulnerable side of 'tough' characters, so that episode really drew me in with Daphne and Chris. So I decided to do a little fic of Daphne finding Chris after his last argument with Roy. The episode didn't really say who found Chris, so I'm making the assumption that it was Daphne and I don't think it's too far of a jump. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit from this story.

From down the street Daphne could tell something was amiss. There was something lying on the Minor's front porch and the blinds of the front window were waving lazily in the wind. Getting a couple yards closer, her heart jumped in to her throat.

It was Chris on the front porch. And he wasn't moving.

Daphne sped up and quickly parked her car in front of the house. Jumping out of the vehicle she sprinted to the porch while pulling out her cell phone and dialed 911. She told the operator that her boyfriend was unconscious on the front porch, gave them the address, and hung up.

"Oh my God Chris, what happened to you?" she whispered.

Daphne was kneeling next to him, unsure of what to do. His breathing was normal but there was a small puddle of blood pooling next to his face, it also looked like he had a pretty bad gash on his left forearm. She swept the glass away from him and gently pushed Chris onto his back, being very careful with his head. She was relieved to find that the blood was coming from a small cut across his left eyebrow.

Chris groaned and cracked open his right eye. It took a couple seconds for the scene to come into focus. Daphne could barely hear him when he spoke.

"Daph? What's going on?"

"I just found you here on your porch. What happened?" Her voice was shaking and he could see the worry in her eyes. Chris swallowed thickly before answering.

"Um . . . Dad and I were arguing . . . and I guess he ended it by throwing me out . . ." _like garbage. _ He could no longer look her in the eye, instead staring straight up at the ceiling. His head was killing him. He sighed and rubbed his temple, willing the pain to go away. It didn't.

Daphne couldn't keep the horrified look off her face. How could a father do that to his own child? She knew Roy was kind of an ass, but to do this? To hurt your own kid, the one who's spent more time at work than school to keep a roof over their heads? She just didn't understand and probably never would. It hurt her to think that Roy could hurt Chris like this, _her_ Chris.

"God Chris I'm so sorry." She brought his hand to her face and held it there, intertwining her fingers with his. " I called an ambulance, it should be here soon."

Chris met that statement with a sharp stare that quickly vanished. He couldn't be mad at her, he probably needed to get checked out anyway given how much his head was pounding. He sighed and glanced at Daphne.

"It's okay, you did the right thing. This is all my fault anyway. If I hadn't-"

"Stop. This isn't your fault. Your dad's a jerk and you got hurt because of it. Period." She squeezed his hand and began stroking his hair with the other.

Daphne could sense how close he was to cracking. All this time, everything he'd done was to take care of his family and it always seemed to come back and bite him in the ass or throw him out a window in this case. Chris closed his eyes and as the tears began to fall he tightened his grip on her hand. She could literally feel his pain and the tears she had been holding back began to fall as well. She leaned over him, touching his forehead to hers. They remained that way for a few minutes with Daphne whispering in his ear.

"It's okay Chris. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

In the distance the sirens of the ambulance could be heard. Daphne pulled away knowing Chris would want to compose himself as best he could before they arrived but she didn't let go of his hand.

"Thanks Daph . . . I'm glad it was you that found me."

"Thank you for trusting me." She placed a gentle kiss on the back of his hand. Daphne knew it couldn't be easy for Chris to be so vulnerable - he's had to be the strong one for so long. For him to trust her enough to show that side of himself meant a lot to her. She only wished it had been under better circumstances. The closer the ambulance got, the more she could feel him pulling away, putting his mask back in place. His face was blank and he was staring at the ceiling again.

The ambulance arrived and two male paramedics got out of the truck and hurried towards them. Daphne had to move away from Chris to allow the paramedics to do their job.

"Hey kid, my name's Michael and I'll be the one taking care of you while Joey gets us to the hospital okay?" The paramedic, Michael, was flashing a light in Chris' eyes that made him hiss in pain.

"Kay."

Soon enough they had Chris in a neck brace, on a stretcher, and into the ambulance. Daphne climbed in after them when Chris asked for her. She kept out of the way but put her hand on his foot to let him know she was there. Chris answered questions as Michael took note of his injuries - the cut above his eye, a possible concussion, and a particularly nasty gash on his left arm probably from trying to catch himself on a bed of glass.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Chris Minor."

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday March 1st."

"What are you feeling?"

"Serious headache and my left arm is stinging."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"How did this happen, kid?"

Chris didn't answer immediately. That was definitely a loaded question - should he tell them? That would lead to a bunch of other questions he knew he didn't want to answer. Questions that could endanger Daphne and her family too.

"I fell."

"Through a window?"

"Yes."

The paramedic knew it wasn't the truth but also knew that he wasn't going to get any other answer from the boy. He sighed in frustration and began cleaning the cut on Chris' face. Chris winced but didn't make any noise.

"You'll probably need stitches for this cut, definitely for the one on your arm. When we get to the hospital the doc will check your head for serious injury. I need you stay awake for me."

"Okay."

Chris' cold demeanor frightened Daphne a little bit. How easily he lied to protect his scum bag father, how emotionless he seemed compared to a few minutes ago. She knew it was a facade, that all the turbulence was under the surface, but she wondered how long his mask had been in place, how long he'd been lying to protect his 'family.' It took a damn telepath to see behind that mask and she's never been more grateful for her abilities.

Chris was so tired and he just wanted to go to sleep but Michael wanted him to stay awake - anytime he'd start to doze the man would call his name. It sounded so similar to his dad yelling at him. The pounding in his head was getting worse by the second and the room was spinning. With each beat of his heart a wave of pain passed through his skull and it was making him feel sick. Michael saw him turn green and grabbed a bucket just in time.

He leaned to his right and vomited into the bucket, the paramedic supporting his back. When he was done retching, Michael helped him lay back down, supporting his neck and back as gently as possible.

"Is he okay?"

"Vomiting is a symptom of a concussion. Don't worry, we're almost to the hospital."

When they arrived to the ER Chris was swiftly taken to an exam room and Daphne was ushered into the waiting room. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving for the waiting room. It took only a little while before a doctor came out and talked to her. Chris had a mild concussion and two lacerations that were getting stitched up now. They ran CT scans and found no internal bleeding in the brain so it was possible that Chris would be discharged today with orders for bed rest and acetaminophen for pain. He also was not allowed to drive for the next ten days and if any of his symptoms worsened he was to return to the hospital immediately.

Daphne knew he wouldn't take the no driving and bed rest very well but also knew her family would help and hopefully his bosses would understand. Before going to visit him Daphne decided to make a phone call.

"Daphne?"

"Dad, Chris is in the hospital."

Well, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are always welcome and definitely appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again. Welcome to the second chapter of Aftermath. I wasn't going to do one originally but I decided to go ahead and do some more thanks to the first reviewer of the story – thank you Stephanddaph for your kind words.

**Note: **Last chapter ended with Daphne calling her father. I am skipping the part where Jim visits Chris and confronts Roy at Global Tech since those events happened in the episode. This chapter is what I imagine Stephanie doing after telling Katie and Jim about Joshua. So while Jim is whaling on Joshua, Stephanie is visiting Chris and Daphne at the hospital.

Thank you for reading, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit from this story.

Aftermath, Chapter 2

After the Global Tech incident was over Stephanie went to the hospital to visit Chris and Daphne. She arrived just as Chris was being discharged. Daphne approached her as Chris was signing the last form.

"Hey Mom, what's going on?" Stephanie waited until Chris came over to answer.

"Chris, your dad's been arrested for breaking into Global Tech facilities and assaulting one of the lab techs there." She refrained from telling him it was _her_ lab tech because she didn't want him to feel any guiltier than he already did. "Thank you for telling Jim where your dad was going, he managed to get there before anyone got seriously hurt." Chris couldn't meet her gaze and instead stared at the floor.

"Mrs. Powell . . . I'm sorry. I know I'm not responsible for my dad's actions but if I had never stolen that stuff from your house in the first place, none of this would have happened."

Stephanie smiled and put a finger under his chin to get him to look at her.

"Yes, that's true. But you're the only one who got hurt here and I'm guessing it's not the first time either." Chris couldn't meet her gaze with that statement. "If none of this had happened, you wouldn't be free of him."

Chris glanced at her and gave a small half-smile, nodding his head.

"Now, it's getting late. Is your mother coming to pick you up?" Chris went pale. He'd forgotten to call her.

"Um, no, I . . . forgot to call. She doesn't know about any of this . . ." He was definitely kicking himself for that one. But Stephanie didn't miss a beat.

"Okay then, why don't you have Daphne take you to your house to pick up a few things and you can stay with us for tonight and we'll call your mother tomorrow?"

"Really, Mrs. Powell, it's fine. I can just stay at my house-"

"Don't be ridiculous. You have a head injury and should have someone around to check on you."

Daphne smiled at the exchange between her mother and Chris. Her dad will probably flip when he finds out her boyfriend is spending the night.

"Are you sure that's okay?" Chris didn't want to be a burden to anyone, especially not the Powells. He'd already caused them enough trouble.

"Yes, I'm sure. Daphne why don't you go get your car and take Chris to his house? I'll head home, get dinner started, and update your father."

"Will do Mom." Daphne smiled and hugged her mother, grateful for how she was handling the situation. She had every right to be angry with Chris for stealing that serum, but instead she chose to help him in his hour of need. "C'mon Chris, let's go." She grabbed his hand and led him out the door, walking slowly for his sake.

Stephanie was so proud of her daughter. She could tell by just looking at Chris how much Daphne affected him – he was at ease, as if the burden he was carrying was lighter with her around. And Stephanie knew Chris adored her daughter, would do anything for her – he'd protected her from that mugger despite having a gun pointed at him.

Stephanie was grateful for her daughter's abilities too and even more grateful that her daughter was using them to help. If not for Daphne's telepathy, she probably would have looked at Chris the same way everyone else does – as a stereotypical bad boy. Stephanie just shook her head, smiled a knowing smile, and followed the teens out the door.

By the time Daphne and Chris made it back to her house dinner was almost ready.

'Wow, you're mom's fast."

Daphne just laughed and took his bag to the guest room. Dinner was delicious but quiet. Chris tried to help with the dishes but Stephanie banished him to the living room with Daphne to rest. JJ got to help his mother do the dishes instead.

Chris and Daphne didn't watch much TV; they just talked and enjoyed each other's company for a little while. But soon the events of the day caught up with Chris and he was too tired to keep his eyes open. Daphne walked him to his room and bid him good night then went to her own room for the evening.

Jim stood outside Chris' door for a little while just in case he needed help. When Stephanie finished up the dishes and caught Jim standing there she just laughed.

"There's no need to play guard dog tonight honey, I'm sure he's out of commission for a little while."

"I'm not –" Jim realized his wife was having a go at him and smiled. "Okay dear, let's go to bed then." Stephanie didn't miss the sarcasm in Jim's voice. She just giggled and told him she'd be to bed in a minute, she wanted to check on Chris first.

She knocked softly on the door, after receiving no answer she opened it and realized Chris was already fast asleep, all curled up under the blankets. The small lamp on the bedside table was still on with a glass of water and a couple of pain pills sitting next to it. Next to the glass she also spotted a small photograph of Chris and Daphne smiling brightly - it made her smile. She turned to Chris and pulled his covers up a little more and brushed hair out of his face. Then she turned off the lamp and left quietly.

The next morning Stephanie called the school on Chris' behalf, letting them know he wouldn't be there and that Daphne would be picking up his homework. They sounded surprised that someone was calling in for him, apparently Roy never did.

The family was eating breakfast at the table when Chris finally woke and made his way out of the bedroom and into the dining room. Daphne dropped her spoon at the sight; it landed in her cereal bowl and splashed milk everywhere.

His hair was disheveled and he was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. All he wore was a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater. Given that he always wore jackets, Daphne had never really gotten a good look before and she definitely liked what she saw.

'_He's adorable when he's sleepy. Hot too.'_

At Jim's not-so-subtle cough Daphne resumed eating her cereal, blushing furiously. JJ snickered and Daphne glared at him. Jim turned to greet Chris.

"Good morning, are you hungry? We have cereal, eggs, bacon, pancakes, whatever you want."

"No thanks. Do you have orange juice?"

"In the fridge. How are you feeling?"

"Fine I guess, a little sore, but my head doesn't hurt as bad." Chris poured himself a glass and sat at the table. It took him a while to wake up in the mornings, so he liked to sit and wait for the drowsiness to go away.

"What time is it?"

"It's about 7:15."

"What?" Chris' head shot up and he regretted it instantly, a wave of pain reverberating around his skill. He winced and rubbed his temple. Stephanie got up to put her dishes in the sink and she patted his arm as she passed.

"It's okay Chris. I called the school to let them know you wouldn't be there today. Daphne will pick up your homework. You just need to stay here and rest for today at least. When Daphne gets home you can call your mom and have her come pick you up."

Chris was definitely not used to this – being taken care of, having people care. Sure, his mom cared but he hadn't lived with her in two years plus she had her hands full with his younger brother.

"Uh, are you sure that's okay? Me staying here by myself? How can you trust me so easily – I just stole something from your house a few days ago?"

Jim met him with a sharp stare and answered his question.

"Simple. Daphne trusts you and we trust her judgment. Anything you do reflects on her." Jim got up, taking his plate with him. As he walked around Chris he placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"And if you ever steal from this house again, a concussion will be the least of your worries." Chris only nodded, suddenly very interested in his glass. Jim patted his shoulder and took his plate to the sink.

"Thank you guys. For everything." He spoke softly, but everyone caught it.

After breakfast was cleared up Stephanie and Jim left for work and JJ headed out to Daphne's car. Before Daphne could follow him out the door Chris grabbed her from behind and held her tightly in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and whispered in her ear.

"Your family's amazing, Daph. Thank you."

Daphne turned around and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"You're amazing too. I love you, get some rest and I'll see you when I get home." Daphne kissed him again and left for school.

"I love you too."


End file.
